3 or more cups of coffee could improve HIV, HCV survival, study suggests

Martina C, 02 Oct 2017

A French study has suggested that survival rates of patients with HIV and Hepatitis C would improve with three cups of coffee a day.

The French National Institute of Health and National Agency for AIDS and Hepatitis Research, in a study, suggested that drinking three cups of coffee a day and not smoking could improve their chance of surviving HIV and HCV by up to 50 percent.

The coffee also doesn’t have to be decaffeinated, noted study author Dr Maria Patrizia Carrieri of Aix Marseille University in Marseille, France. Caffeine is known to cause anxiety and trouble sleeping.

Patients who have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at an increased risk for contracting hepatitis C, because of their weakened immune system.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease, meanwhile, could progress to liver cancer or cirrhosis. It can be transmitted by unsafe injections, or transfusion of unscreened blood.

Around 71 million people worldwide have infection, and 399,000 patients are estimated to die from such infection, although some advances have made HCV curable, according to Daily Mail.

Cured HCV may now lead to HIV exacerbating the “ageing process” according to the study. It could then lead to liver deterioration and heart problems.

For the study, the researchers looked at 1,028 patients. The researchers noted that those who drank more cups of coffee a day have higher chances of surviving their infection within the five year course.

The team speculated that the coffee may have helped in slowing the scar tissue formation in diseased livers and helped reduce the production of enzymes produced by diseased livers.

If cured of HCV, patients can have even better chances - pegged at 80 percent - if they drink three or more cups of coffee, the study further suggested.

Non-smoking and having a strong support system, like a partner, may have helped better their chances of survival, the study concluded. MIMS